F1 2012
The 2012 Formula One season is the first simulated season (63rd annual) Formula One motor racing. Teams and drivers 'Team changes' *Lotus Racing team principal Tony Fernandes purchased the rights to the Team Lotus name from David Hunt, with the intention of renaming the team to reflect its historical counterpart for the 2011 season. The use of the Team Lotus name led to a naming dispute with Lotus Cars. The team announced that they had terminated their three-year contract with engine supplier Cosworth; and will use Renault engines from 2011. *On 8 December 2010, Lotus Cars announced a partnership with Renault F1 that saw the British sports car manufacturer become title sponsor of the team, with a view to taking full control over the next few years. Confusion over the exact status over ownership of the team led team principal Éric Boullier to clarify that Genii Capital has full ownership of the team, with former owners Renault retreating to a position as engine supplier. The team will be known as Lotus Renault GP, and the chassis and constructor will still be known as Renault for reasons related to the Concorde Agreement, similar to Sauber retaining the "BMW Sauber" name in 2010 despite the departure of BMW at the end of 2009. *BMW Sauber announced in July 2010 that it will revert to the name Sauber in 2011. The team was forced to retain the BMW naming for 2010 due to issues involving television rights money that would not have been paid had the team changed their name. *After a Williams demonstration run in Caracas, it was confirmed that Venezuelan state-controlled oil company PDVSA would enter into a long-term sponsorship deal with the team, replacing outgoing sponsors RBS, Philips and AirAsia. *After sponsoring the team for the 2010 season, Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia acquired what they termed a "significant stake" of Virgin Racing, with the team changing its name to Marussia Virgin Racing. Further reports confirmed that Marussia had purchased a controlling stake in the team, securing their future until 2014. 'Driver changes' *Jérôme d'Ambrosio signed contract with Marussia Virgin Racing *Paul di Resta signed contract with Force India *Narain Karthikeyan signed contract with HRT Formula 1 Team *Nick Heidfeld signed contract with Lotus Renault GP. *Vitantonio Liuzzi signed contract with HRT Formula 1 Team *Pastor Maldonado signed contract with Williams *Sergio Pérez signed contract with Sauber *Roman Jefries signed contract with Team Lotus *'Retirements:' **Lucas di Grassi **Nico Hülkenberg **Robert Kubica **Bruno Senna **Heikki Kovalainen Season calendar 'Calendar changes' *The Bahrain Grand Prix was originally scheduled to be the opening race of the season on 13 March, but was called off by the organisers in light of anti-government protests in the country. *The German Grand Prix moved from the Hockenheimring to the Nürburgring, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits. *The 2011 season saw the addition of the Indian Grand Prix to the calendar.[111] Originally known as the Jaypee Group Circuit, the venue was officially renamed the Buddh International Circuit. Results and standings 'Grand Prix' 'Drivers' standings' 'Constructors' standings'